Administrative Assistant
Irene Cherrington
905-688-5550, extension 3315
573 Glenridge 263
http://www.brocku.ca/philosophy/
Philosophy, defined as the pursuit of wisdom, encompasses the exploration of the nature of reality, consciousness, values, knowledge, reason, argument and evidence. Students study not only the primary texts of the Western philosophical tradition, but also major texts of Indian and Chinese thought. Students are encouraged to investigate critically and dialectically their own views and values.

Students in the Department of Philosophy are required to complete one credit in a language other than English (classical or modern). Where half-credit courses are used to satisfy the requirements, both half-credits must be in the same language.

All courses numbered 1F90 through 1F94 are introductory PHIL courses. Though different in content and emphasis, PHIL 1F91, 1F93 and 1F94 are no more advanced than 1F90. Normally a student will not be permitted to take more than one introductory course.

In 20 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above; at least three credits must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.

In 15 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.

Students may take a combined major in Philosophy and a second discipline. For requirements in the other discipline, the student should consult the relevant department/centre. It should be noted that not all departments/centres provide a combined major option.
Honours

A Master's program is offered, focusing on two areas: recent and contemporary European thought and Asian (especially Indian) thought. Candidates should have an Honours BA in philosophy; those with a Pass BA in philosophy or a degree in another discipline will be required to take additional courses. Students may choose either to complete two credits and write a thesis or to complete four credits and write a major essay.
Graduate credits are to be obtained by completing courses designated at the 5(alpha)00 level. A course previously taken for 4(alpha)00 level credit may not be retaken for graduate credit.

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.
PHIL 1F90
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophical Classics and Contemporary Life
Contemporary problems viewed through a variety of philosophical writings. Students are encouraged to formulate and examine their own beliefs about freedom, knowledge, religion, love and questions of right and wrong.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 1F91, 1F93 and 1F94 except with permission of the department.
PHIL 1F91
Introduction to Philosophy: Human Nature
How do we see ourselves- Who are we- What are we- A critical analysis and evaluation of classical and contemporary views of human nature from a variety of philosophical and religious traditions.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 1F90, 1F93 and 1F94 except with permission of the department.
PHIL 1F93
Introduction to Philosophy: The Foundations of the Present
An attempt to place the philosophical issues which confront the reflective individual today in their historical context by examining the teachings and arguments which shape our views of such matters as body and soul, life after death, truth and knowledge, faith and moral responsibility.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 1F90, 1F91 and 1F94 except with permission of the department.
PHIL 1F94
Introduction to Philosophy: Problems
Central problems of philosophy as living questions for reflection, dialogue and debate, including: Is the external world really there- Does God exist- Can I really know anything- What is a person- Is everything permissible- Can my life have meaning-
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 1F90, 1F91 and 1F93 except with permission of the department.
PHIL 2M90-2M92
Selected Topics in Philosophy
Topics chosen to reflect areas of occasional interest which are not represented in the regular program of studies. Proposals from students are welcome.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 2P00
Pre-Socratics to Plato
Survey of Western philosophy from its birth in the Pre-Socratics (sixth century BC) to Plato.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
PHIL 2P01
Growth of Greek Philosophy: Aristotle and Beyond
Survey of Western philosophy from Aristotle, the Hellenistic schools (Epicurean, Stoic, Sceptic) to Plotinus (third century AD).
PHIL 2P02
Early Modern Philosophy: The Rationalists
Classical philosophies of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries as found in the writings of the Continental Rationalists (Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz).
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
PHIL 2P03
Early Modern Philosophy: The Empiricists
Classical philosophies of England, Ireland and Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries as found in the writings of the British Empiricists (Locke, Berkeley and Hume).
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
PHIL 2P09
Ethics: Major Ethical Theories and Philosophies of Life
Examines Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill and contemporary thinkers.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
*PHIL 2P12
Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu Thought
(also offered as INTC 2P12)
Hindu thought beginning with the Vedic myths, through the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita to the systems of the Vedanta. Topics include Karma, reincarnation, altered states of consciousness, Maya, the problem of knowledge, the role and nature of God, the theory and practice of yoga.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in INTL 2P12.
*PHIL 2P13
Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Buddhist Thought
(also offered as INTC 2P13)
Buddhist thought from Prince Siddhartha's enlightenment and subsequent Deer Park Sermon (the basis of Hinayana) through the Perfection of Wisdom to Madhyamika Buddhism (the Mahayana representative) to Zen (the silence of the Buddha). Topics include Nirvana, non-self, one-hand clapping.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in INTL 2P13.
PHIL 2P14
The Beginnings of Existential Thinking
The sources of both theistic and atheistic lived philosophy in such figures as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
PHIL 2P15
The Growth of Existential Thinking
The work of such philosophers as Scheler, Heidegger, Marcel and Sartre.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
*PHIL 2P17
Introduction to Chinese Philosophy
(also offered as INTC 2P17)
Confucian, Taoist and Chinese Buddhist philosophical traditions examined in conjunction with appropriate texts.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in INTL 2P17.
PHIL 2P18
Introduction to Postmodernism
Origin and development of postmodern thinking with particular reference to the issues of ethics and the role of women. Writers may include Nietzsche, Derrida, Levinas, Irigaray, Kristeva, Cixous and Wyschogrod.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
*PHIL 2P20
Abrahamic Religious Thought
(also offered as LART 2P20)
Roots of the monotheisms of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Who and what is God? What is our relationship to God? What are the ethical bases of religion? What is the nature of faith?
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of PHIL 1F90, 1F91, 1F93, 1F94.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in GBLS 2P20.
PHIL 2P25
Introduction to Logic
Modern deductive logic; the objective is to develop the ability to analyze arguments in order to determine their worth. Arguments will be symbolized in order to clarify their form and to determine their validity or invalidity.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
PHIL 2P31
History and Philosophy of Education
What does it mean to be an educated person- Examination of systems of educational philosophy in contemporary terms.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
#PHIL 2P82
Business Ethics
(also offered as MGMT 2P82)
Evaluation of the contribution of business practices, institutions and actions to the general human good. Topics include false or misleading advertising, product safety, monopolistic price schemes, effects of pollution, discriminatory hiring policies, the role of shareholders, management, government and the public in determining corporate policy and economic justice.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: not open to BAcc and BBA majors.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in ETHC 3P82 or MGMT 3P82.
PHIL 2P91
Philosophical Psychology
Thinkers and the philosophical debates which inform psycho-analytic/psychological theory, including Brentano, Freud, Sartre, Ricoeur, Lacan, as well as more contemporary thinkers such as Nancy, Lacoue-Labarthe.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL or PSYC credit or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 2F93.
*PHIL 2P93
Mass Media and Philosophy
(also offered as INTC 2P93)
Different philosophical reactions to various types of mass media and computer-mediated communication that challenge the traditional concepts of "identity", "freedom", and "human nature", including critical theory (Adorno/Horkheimer), media theory (McLuhan), postmodernism (Baudrillard) and systems theory (Niklas Luhmann).
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
#PHIL 2P94
Feminist Philosophy
(also offered as WISE 2P94)
Views of various feminist philosophers focusing on important debates from the analytic and continental traditions.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of PHIL 1F90, 1F91, 1F93, 1F94, WISE 1F90.
*PHIL 2P95
Bioethics
(also offered as BIOL 2P95)
Value conflicts and moral dilemmas in biology and medicine. Emphasis on specific case studies in reproductive interventions, medical experimentation, concepts of "health" and "disease", modification of behaviour, lifestyle choices, allocation of scarce or expensive medical resources, and death and dying.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL or BIOL credit or permission of the instructor.
Note: may count as an elective, but not as a major credit in an Honours BIOL (single or combined) program.
PHIL 2P96
Philosophy of Human Nature
Major philosophical orientations regarding the concept of humanity across the Western and Eastern traditions. Examination of basic issues involved in reaching a philosophical understanding of human nature and its place in the scheme of things.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
*PHIL 2P97
Philosophy of Religion
(also offered as LART 2P97)
Traditional issues, such as the proofs for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the relationship of faith to reason and the nature of religious knowledge.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one credit in PHIL or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 2P98
Philosophy in Literature
Philosophical issues in literature, such as creation stories in ancient and contemporary mythology, the nature of human freedom versus externally determining forces, conflicts of values, the encounter of opposing world views.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one credit in PHIL or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 2P99
Gender Ethics and Sexuality
Application of ethics to questions of human sexuality. Topics include sexual values, the semantics of sex, the concepts of the romantic and eternal-feminine, respect for the personhood of women, censorship, pornography, legal enforcement of morality, sex in advertising, prostitution and AIDS.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
*PHIL 2Q98
The Artistic Experience
(also offered as LART 2Q98 and VISA 2Q98)
Classical theories of art through analysis of painting, photography, video, film, music, and drama examining such concepts as beauty, creativity, artistic intention, perception, interpretation, and the nature and possible role of art.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or VISA 1Q98 and 1Q99 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in GBLS 2Q98.
PHIL 2V85-2V89
Contemporary Social Issues
Problems arising in the areas of social ethics and public policy. Topics include the morality of deceit, overpopulation, obligations to future generations and the environment, nuclear deterrence, animal liberation, moral enforcement and world hunger. Whenever possible, topics are selected in accordance with student interests.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one credit in PHIL or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 2V96-2V99
Philosophy of Science
Historical introduction to the metaphysical foundations of modern physical science. Concepts of space, time and matter as they evolved from the theories of the pre-Socratics to those of Bohr, Heisenberg and contemporary exponents of quantum mechanics.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one credit in PHIL or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3M50-3M59
Selected Topics in Philosophy
Selected issues on the basis of faculty expertise.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one credit in PHIL or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P01
Theory of Knowledge
Fundamental distinctions in the theory of knowledge, such as knowledge and belief, the empirical and the a priori, analytic/synthetic, scientific versus metaphysical knowledge.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P02
Metaphysics
Major problems of metaphysics, considering the question of what there is. Topics may include the nature of space and time, the mind-body relation, substance and property, universals and particulars, causation, identity and personal identity.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P19
The Rise of Christian Philosophy
Philosophy from the patristic period through Erigena and Anselm up to and including the 12th-century Renaissance.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
*PHIL 3P63
Contemporary Feminist Philosophy
(also offered as WISE 3P63)
Feminist thinkers and the philosophical debates which inform contemporary feminist theory including, but not limited to, questions of race, class, gender/sex, power and post-colonialism. Thinkers include Alcoff, Butler, de Beauvoir, Code, Chodorow, Fraser, Gilligan, Harding, Hartsock, Irigaray, Kristeva, MacKinnon and Spivak.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P94 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P80
Environmental Philosophy
Ethical and conceptual problems in connection with humanity's relations to nature, in terms of survival and future social organization. What are the costs of progress and development- What kind of ethical responsibilities do we have for future generations and for non-human living creatures- Examination of economic, political, human-ecological and eco-philosophical theories.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P90
Critical Study of a Classical Philosophy: Plato
In-depth examination of the works of Plato.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P00 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P91
Critical Study of a Classical Philosophy: Aristotle
In-depth examination of the works of Aristotle.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P01 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P92
Hermeneutics
Philosophical theory of interpretation and understanding, with special reference to the methods employed in the humanities (history, literary criticism); the problems of hermeneutics in the works of such thinkers as Gadamer, Ricoeur, Heidegger and Habermas.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P14, 2P15 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P93
Phenomenology
The work of such philosophers as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Scheler and others.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P14, 2P15 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in PHIL 3P60.
*PHIL 3P94
Gandhi and Non-Violence
(also offered as INTC 3P94)
Gandhi as an original philosopher contributing to contemporary ontology. Implications of his thought for applied philosophy of personal, social and international reform, especially in light of its encounters with the forces of violence. Universal relevance of his thought to our technological times, and the relation between his ideas and the Indian tradition.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P12, 2P13 or permission of the instructor.
*PHIL 3P95
Taoism
(also offered as INTC 3P95)
Taoist philosophy of the classical period focusing on the Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching) and the Chuang Tzu.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P17, one PHIL, INTC, INTL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P96
Studies in 19th- and 20th-Century Continental Philosophy I
Critical examination of a key figure of central importance in modern and contemporary philosophy such as Marx, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Habermas, Derrida.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit; PHIL 2P14, 2P15 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3P97
Studies in 19th- and 20th-Century Continental Philosophy II
Critical examination of a key figure of central importance in modern and contemporary philosophy such as Marx, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Habermas, Derrida.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit; PHIL 2P14, 2P15 or permission of the instructor.
#PHIL 3Q90
Consciousness and Society
(also offered as PSYC 3Q90)
Psychodynamic approaches to modern clinical pathologies of narcissism, transpersonal psychologies of meditation and consciousness, and socio-cultural approaches to spiritual movements are used to examine both the natureof religious-mystical experience and the repeated appearance of mysticism throughout the 20th century using the personal, social, and political conflicts associated with the life histories of Nietzsche, Emerson, Thoreau, Heidegger, Jung, Blavatsky, Gurdjieff.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PSYC (single or combined), PHIL (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 1F90.
#PHIL 3Q95
Theories of Personality: Freud and Jung
(also offered as PSYC 3Q95)
Major clinically derived theories of personality with special attention to their bases in case study/life history methodology; focus on Freud and Jung and their continuing relevance for current personality, developmental and transpersonal psychology. The possibly unique relation of "depth psychology" to numinous experience (mysticism, creativity, psychosis).
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PSYC (single or combined), PHIL (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 1F90.
#PHIL 3Q96
Theories of Personality: Developments in Psychodynamic and Transpersonal Psychology
(also offered as PSYC 3Q96)
Major developments in the psychoanalytic and clinical tradition (Kohut, Winnicott, Klein) as they relate to analogous developments within transpersonal and Jungian approaches to "higher" states of consciousness. Conflicts and congruences between these perspectives illustrated by selected life histories (Melanie Klein, Wilhelm Reich, G. Gurdjieff).
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PSYC (single or combined), PHIL (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 1F90.
PHIL 3V90-3V94
Comparative Studies in Philosophy
Historical and systematic study of one or more important themes as developed in ancient Greek, modern and contemporary philosophy and/or Eastern thought.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one PHIL credit or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3V95-3V99
Issues in 17th- and 18th-Century Philosophy
Special issue or a particular thinker of central importance in the classical period of modern philosophy. Where it does not focus upon one individual (e.g., Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant), the course will trace the development of an issue (e.g., causality, mind-body union, the doctrine of substance, personal identity) through its classical origins.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P02, 2P03 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4P20
Kant and the 18th Century
Historical study of the thought of Immanuel Kant in the context of the 18th-century enlightenment, normally focusing on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P02, 2P03 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4P21
Hegel and the 19th Century
Historical study of the thought of Georg W. F. Hegel in the context of the 19th century.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 2P02, 2P03 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4P97
Honours Tutorial I
Directed intensive and individual study in an area in which a student has developed and displayed a particular interest.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.
Note: to be chosen in consultation with a faculty member able to supervise the study. Proposals for a tutorial course must be approved by the Chair of the department by the last day for late registration.
PHIL 4P98
Honours Tutorial II
Directed intensive and individual study in an area in which a student has developed and displayed a particular interest.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.
Note: to be chosen in consultation with a faculty member able to supervise that study. Proposals for a tutorial course must be approved by the Chair of the department by the last day for late registration.
PHIL 4V06-4V14
Contemporary Studies in European Philosophy
The work of one or more thinkers prominent in recent Continental thought.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.
PHIL 4V15-4V29
Modern Philosophical Studies
Advanced course devoted to one or more of the major thinkers of the tradition from Descartes to the present day.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.
PHIL 4V30-4V45
Advanced Studies in Eastern Philosophy
Concentrated critical and interpretative study of selected texts in the areas of Advaita, Vedanta, Yoga, etc., Madhyamika and Yogacara schools of Buddhism, Daoism, or Confucianism.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.
PHIL 4V46-4V60
Advanced Studies in Comparative Philosophy
Selected issues on the basis of faculty expertise.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum of 10.0 overall credits.